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BISHOP HOBAN GIRLS BASKETBALL 1999

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Off the basketball court, members of the 1999 Bishop Hoban's girls basketball team were the sweethearts of the Wyoming Valley Conference. Excellent students with outgoing personalites, the players often could be found chatting up their opponents.

On the court, the Argents were as tenacious as any girls team to ever hail from the Wyoming Valley. They feared no team they encountered and their gutsy attitude helped earn Bishop Hoban its first state championship in basketball.

"One of the best qualities about that team was that they were never in awe of any other team," said John Dougherty, who was the assistant coach at Hoban for 17 years. "They never got nervous, even when we were down."

A highly competitive exhibition schedule prepared the Argents for the postseason. The late Bob Schuler, who coached 18 seasons at Hoban, believed in playing the toughest competition early in the season, even if it meant taking some lumps along the way.

"We were never afraid that playing and losing to state powers like Allentown Central Catholic, State College and North Schuylkill would hurt the morale of the team going into the season," Dougherty said. "We were definitely humbled in some of those games, but we also learned a lot in those losses and the girls knew it would only make them better."

The Argents only three losses were to North Schuylkill, State College and Wyoming Valley West, all in exhibition contests.

Hoban, otherwise, had a perfect 14-0 conference record and had little trouble winning the District 2 AA championship and advancing to the state title game where they met defending state champ Girard on March 26, 1999.

The scouting report on the Argents was a balanced offense, lighting-quick guards, a full-court press that frustrated opponents and forced turnovers, and the inside due of Chelsey Ostrowsky and Sheridan Fischi.

Ostrowsky and Fischi were average height but made up for it with positioning in the lanes, finesse on the boards and soft shooting touch.

"For as strong as our guards were, we were just as tough in the paint with Chelsey and Sheridan," Dougherty said. "We played a lot of teams who had inside players that were taller, but they were really tough under the boards."

Against Girard, Hoban's depth and cool-under-pressure attitude prevailed. The Argents fell behind by six points at halftime but with positive energy they returned for the second half off and rattled off one of their best quarters of the season.

Led by Ostrowsky and twin guards Maria and Julie Viercinski, Hoban opened the third quarter with a 14-1 run.

"I remember Julie stripping the ball from one of Girard's guards and taking it full court for a layup," added Dougherty. "That was when I knew we were in pretty good shape to win the game because they were really on fire at that point."

Despite outscoring Girard 17-5 in the third quarter, the Argents faced adversity in the final quarter when Fischi was whistled for her fourth personal foul. Steph Menio, a junior, stepped in and gave the Argents clutch minutes as well as three steals and four points.

"We were down at the half, but they didn't panic and they kept their composure," Dougherty said. "And just like it had all year, I think our defense, depth, unselfishness and leadership of Bob Schuler put us on top in the state final."

THE SERIES

These are the best of the best: the top 25 Wyoming Valley sports teams of all time. Each day, we’ll select a different team and dig into the archives to relive their glory and greatness. Putting together a list like this
is a tall task. We couldn’t have done it without the readers who submitted suggestions. We hope this series will enrich and inform our readers about the Wyoming Valley’s great sports legacy. And, while we’ll be counting down from 25 to 1 (so you can keep track of where we are in the series), these teams are
not ranked in any particular order. They are all the best of the best.

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